The tipoff was moved two hours ahead Saturday for a CIF State Div. I basketball showdown between Taft High and host Corona Centennial, and the visiting Toreadors acted like it was short notice.

The Southern California Regional semifinal was the biggest game of the season – perhaps of all-time for Taft, which had never advanced past this round — yet the Toreadors were not ready to play, falling behind by a quick 15 points in the opening minutes of a 94-81 loss at Roosevelt High.

“They just came out a lot harder and with a lot more intensity,” Taft guard Kris Yanku said. “We played hard and played good defense, but Corona hit a lot of hard shots, and they stayed hot the whole game.”

Taft (29-3) barely blinked before it was 24-9 on a 3-pointer by Centennial’s Gelaun Wheelwright with three minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter, and the rest is just a blur.

“We just did not come out ready, and we couldn’t stop them,” Yanku said.

It was Taft’s second loss to Centennial (30-4) following a three-point defeat on Dec. 29, and for the second time the Toreadors were left scratching their head, wondering how an opponent with no one taller than 6-foot-3 could defeat the much-taller Toreadors with a starting lineup that included 6-10 Kevin Johnson, 6-5 Stephen Maxwell, 6-5 C.J. Blackwell and 6-4 Spencer Dinwiddie.

“They do have a lot of size, but our shots were falling,” Wheelwright said. “We kept on fast-breaking them, and I think that affected Taft a lot. All those fast breaks got them tired.”
Wheelwright scored 27 points, Dominique Dunning added 21, and Michael Caffey chipped in 17.

The 94 points was the most Taft has given up since at least the 2004-2005 season.

With so many schools bringing in transfers to succeed in basketball, it’s good to know there are still some teams like CIF State Div. III favorite La Canada, featuring an all-senior lineup consisting of four boyhood friends who’ve been playing together since elementary school, plus a fifth senior starter who’s been with them since their freshman year.

Returning All-Southern Section standout Mike McGlashan is a 6-foot-2 guard who averages 17.1 points and is a terrific ball handler.

“He’s been a great player for three years, one of the best in school history,” coach Tom Hofman said.

La Canada (29-3) is one win away from reaching a regional final for the second time. The other was the 2007 team led by Adam Malik that lost to eventual state champion Campbell Hall, and McGlashan, then in eighth grade, was the team manager.

“He grew up watching Adam,” Hofman said.

There are no major-college signees, just a bunch of loyal, longtime teammates “with great chemistry,” Hofman said.

“We’ve haven’t been a good program for that long, and we just don’t have the DI athletes a lot of other programs have, but there’s something special about this team,” Hofman said. “Mike, Matt Faber, Mason Holle, Dario CiVon and Sean Mintie, they’ve known each other for so long that they just trust each other. That’s why they always come through in close games.”

As freshmen, they went undefeated.

“The five guys on the bench have been with them for a long time, too,” Hofman said. “I can’t remember ever starting five seniors. They’ve been together for so long, and they just have a mental toughness about them.”

Montclair Prep has won five section titles plus one state title and one state runner-up, and the Mounties are still alive in Div. V with a regional semifinal Saturday against visiting St. Bernard.

Coach Greg Patterson has had deeper talent through the years, but not too many teams with this much fight, as guard Trey Dickerson, forward Charles Lockett and their teammates have been battle-tested in the tough Alpha League featuring Div. V top seed Sierra Canyon.

“I think I’m most proud of this team, compared to any teams I’ve had,” Patterson said. “The way they’ve grown and developed, I’m just really proud of them. We’re just really coming together as a team. Everyone is playing their roles, and we play pretty good defense. That’s what’s keeping us in games.”

Lockett has come on strong over the past month, and he scored 20 points with 13 rebounds March 4 against Sierra Canyon in a three-point overtime loss in the section final. But the star of the show is Dickerson, a 6-foot guard with a 40-inch vertical leap.

“In our game Tuesday, he had probably one of the most amazing dunks I’ve ever seen in high school,” Patterson said. “He was just so high above the rim that he brought the house down. It was amazing. That’s all I can say.”

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